Did you receive a PPP or COVID EIDL loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for under $100,000? SBA will begin referring defaulted PPP and COVID EIDL borrowers with loans under $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service for collection beginning March 4, 2024.
Impacted borrowers must take action before March 3, 2024.
What does this mean?
Small business borrowers who are referred to Treasury and IRS for collection may face significant consequences, including:
- Negative impact on credit scores;
- Withholding of future state and federal tax refunds and any potential federal government funding (such as social security); and,
- Referral of your loan to private debt collectors to pursue repayment, who may use tactics like wage garnishment.
PPP LOANS
- Loan forgiveness is still available for most PPP borrowers.
- If you have a PPP loan under $100,000, you may be able to apply for loan forgiveness now at the SBA PPP Direct Forgiveness Portal.
- For more information, visit www.sba.gov/PPPForgiveness.
- A step-by-step guide to use the portal can be found here.
COVID EIDL LOANS
- Many COVID EIDL loans are eligible for hardship assistance, payment plans, or other accommodations. For more information regarding COVID EIDL loans or available relief options visit Manage your EIDL at SBA.gov.
- If you have a COVID EIDL loan and need to establish a repayment plan or make a payment, you can access your loan through the MySBA Portal. For loans over $200,000, borrowers will need to contact the COVID EIDL Servicing Cetner directly at covideidlservicing@sba.gov to discuss hardship assistance.
Important: you must apply for PPP loan forgiveness or bring your COVID EIDL loan into good standing before March 3, 2024. After this date, defaulted borrowers may accrue additional non-forgivable fees, fines and face other collections actions.
SBA IS HERE TO HELP
PPP: If you need additional assistance with your PPP direct forgiveness application, contact SBA at 877-552-2692 (Monday-Friday 8am-8pm EST).
COVID EIDL: If you need assistance with your COVID EIDL loan, contact SBA at 833-853-5638 (Monday -Saturday 8am-8pm EST), or email covideidlservicing@sba.gov with your loan or application number and the reason for your request in the subject line.
Note: This communication is not intended to collect outstanding debts from individuals or entities currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.